“And then I got a job in Arizona, and I knew that it was an opportunity to get away.”
For a while, my mother didn’t say anything, and I wondered if she’d put down the phone. Had I been just talking to myself all this time? But then I heard that she was crying.
“Oh, Mom. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”
“I . . . it’s just . . . I should’ve been there,” she said.
“No. I should’ve told you. And I didn’t. Mom, I’m so much happier here without him. But there’s more to tell you.”
I told her about meeting Ian, and what a wonderful friend he had been to me since moving to Arizona. Then I told her how things had taken a turn, and how the two of us had gotten closer and closer. After that, I explained how Raymond had come back and how Ian had punched him.”
“And now he’s all over the papers, and they’ve completely slammed his name into the ground. They didn’t even mention Raymond. And really, if it wasn’t for Raymond, none of this would’ve happened in the first place. It’s not fair, Mom. He was only looking out for me. Maybe he shouldn’t have hit him. But I wanted to hit him too. Raymond was drunk and pushy and horrible. He deserved it.”
“I would’ve punched him too,” my mother said.
And at that moment, I thought that my mother was going to tell me that Ian was the man for me. I thought that for the first time, she was going to look at what was good for me rather than what she thought was good for me. But I was wrong. I was completely taken aback when my mother said the complete opposite.
“I’m glad Ian was there to help you, darling. I’m so glad. But I think it’s best that you don’t see him anymore.”
“But why? He saved me.”
“No. Only you can save yourself,” she said.
I didn’t say much after that. I just said what I thought she wanted me to hear, and then I put the phone down and made my way back to my desk. For the rest of the day, I just swallowed my thoughts and buried my emotions in my work. I didn’t know what else to do. The only thing that I knew for certain was that I missed Ian Maxwell more than I ever thought I would.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ian
“Whoa! You look like shit,” Chris said the moment I walked into the shop that Monday.
He was right. I did look like shit. I hadn’t slept a wink since the party, and it was clear from the dark rings under my eyes. I nodded but didn’t say anything. Truthfully, I just didn’t know what to say, anyway.
“Ah, not even a snarky comment. You must be pretty shaken by the whole thing. So, aren’t you even going to tell me what happened?”
I looked at him and frowned. “How do you know that something happened?”
“It’s all over the papers, dude.”
“What? You’re kidding me!”
“Nope. Here, check it out!” Chris said and threw the newspaper my way.
I wasn’t just in the newspaper: I was on the front page, and everything that they had said was a lie.
“Bastards. I can’t believe this.” I looked up at Chris. “You do know that none of this is true, right?”
“I know nothing because you won’t tell me. So, what happened?”
I told him the story about Raymond showing up and how he’d tried to hit me.
“So, I hit him back.”
“Naturally. I would’ve done the same. Who was this guy, anyway?”
“A Californian idiot. Big fake smile with bright white teeth.”
Chris pulled a face. “I hope you punched him in the mouth.”
“Of course. It was the first place I went for.”
“So, what happened next? I mean, something must’ve happened for you to go to jail?”
“Nope. Nothing happened. Raymond was so drunk that he passed out the minute I punched him. Next thing I knew, Eliza had called the police.”
“The police? Why? They didn’t have to get involved.”
I sighed. “Exactly. But Eliza didn’t realize that. She saw Raymond passed out and figured the cops could help.”
“Clearly she has not had a lot of dealings with the cops before.”
“Clearly not. They took one look at me and locked me up. Raymond too. And then this whole story came out. And they put my full name in, as well as the club details, and the shop. This is so bad. So bad. My dad is going to freak.”
“It’s not your fault, man.”
“Well, you and I both know that. But try telling that to the rest of the world.”
“Man, that bites.”
Just then, my father appeared in the doorway.
“Ian, please can you come to the office?”
He looked smaller than usual, and I wondered how his treatment was going. But from the look on his face, I had a feeling that we were not going to be talking about his treatment.
“Good luck, man,” Chris said. “Shout if you need back up.”
I made my way into the office where my father was holding up a copy of the same newspaper that I had just read over. He asked me to explain what had happened, so I took him through the entire event. I also told him all about Eliza and hoped that he would understand where I was coming from. He’d liked Eliza so much, after all, and surely he would’ve stuck up for her too. For the most part, he listened intently to the conversation, and it looked like he might be on my side. But then he sighed deeply when I was done, and I wasn’t so sure anymore.
“This whole thing is just very unfortunate right now, Ian. It doesn’t exactly give us a good name, as I’m sure you’ll agree.”
“Of course I’ll agree. That’s why I’m so upset about it all. I mean, they twisted everything to make me look like the bad guy. You know the cops have never liked the club. And that’s not my fault. The club had a bit of a bad reputation back in the day. It’s not like that anymore, but they are still desperate to pin things on us. And the media loves a good story.”
“True. But you probably shouldn’t have hit that guy in the first place. Then none of this would’ve happened.”
I sat back in my chair with disbelief.
“Dad, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, anything,” he said.
“What would you have done?”
“How much do you like this girl?”
“A lot. More than a lot.”
“Then I guess I would’ve done the same.”
I nodded. That was all I needed to hear. I was just about to get up and leave when he stopped me.
“Wait. That’s not all, Ian. Like I said, it’s unfortunate that all this has happened. But it did. So for now, maybe while everything dies down, I think it’s best if Grant is the face of the club for a while. We really don’t need the bad publicity.”
“Patriot? You want Patriot to take over the club? Are you serious? But I’m the one that lives and breathes the club. Not him. I’m the one that has been there through everything. Not him. And I’m the one that stood up in front of all the members last week and ran an entire meeting without any issues whatsoever. Not him. But fine, let him take over. He can clearly do no harm in your eyes.”
I stood up and walked out.
“Uh oh. I take it that didn’t go well?”
“Nope,” I said. I grabbed my coat. “And I’m going home. I honestly do not want to be here today. If any work comes in for me, tell them I’ll be in tomorrow. I’m sorry to leave you like this, Chris, but I really just need to get out.”
He nodded. “Go. Go. I’ve got it here.”
I smiled at him. He was quite possibly the only person that truly understood me. “Thanks, man, I appreciate it,” I said and walked out.
I spent the rest of the day in bed. I didn’t even have the energy to go out for a ride. And that in itself was saying quite a lot. The only reason I finally got out of bed that afternoon was because there was a loud knock on my door.
“Patriot? What are you doing here?” I asked when I saw my brother standing in the doorway.
“Did you just get out of bed?” he
asked.
“Yeah. Come in. Beer?”
“Sure,” he said and I went to fetch us both a beer.
“So, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“Well, I came to see what happened. I read the paper.”
“I also heard that you’re taking over from the club.”
“Pop’s rules. Not mine,” he said and held up his hand.
I grunted. “Yeah, whatever. I don’t care anymore.”
“So, tell me the story. What happened? Because none of this seems right to me. I’m assuming this is just another case of the media twisting a story to suit them.”
“It’s so good to hear you say that,” I said, and for the first time I was glad that my brother was there with me. “It’s total bullshit. It’s not at all what happened. Well, I did punch the guy. But he deserved it.”
I told Patriot the entire story, and he listened with intent. Afterward he told me that he completely believed me.
“You do?”
He laughed. “Hey, don’t sound so surprised by that. Of course I believe you. First, you’re my brother. And second, I know these guys well enough to know how they write their stories. They’ve been dying to get something on the club for a long time. This just gave them a reason. It’s pretty sick though. I mean, they didn’t even mention Raymond by name. I love the way that he just gets away free when he was the one that started it all.”
“Exactly!” I said.
“Although, I’m sure it felt good to hit him,” Patriot said and grinned at me.
I couldn’t help but grin back. I’d been dreaming about hitting Raymond ever since Eliza had told me about him. “No, not good. It felt great!”
“So, this girl, Eliza. You like her?”
“I like her a lot.”
“But she snitched on you.”
“I know. That wasn’t cool. But you know, the more I think about it, the more I think she didn’t really do anything wrong. She doesn’t know the sort of history that the club has with the cops. She doesn’t know everything that I’ve been through. It’s not her fault.”
“Yeah, but do you really want a girl like that around? I mean, maybe you shouldn’t be with her. I think you need to leave her well alone. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. And maybe you’ll find someone a little bit more . . . your type.”
My type? What exactly was my type? I thought about Eliza in her long blue dress and her white sneakers and I sighed. She was what I wanted. Wasn’t she?
I took another sip of beer and then threw it into the dustbin. It landed perfectly with just one throw.
“Nice. Let me try,” Patriot said.
He finished his and then threw. It missed by millimeters.
“Ha! You’ve lost your touch,” I said. I laughed as he ran to fetch the can and try again. And just like that, the topic was changed, and we went back to talking about stupid things like beer throwing. But even though I wasn’t talking about it anymore, it was impossible to forget his words. And maybe you’ll find someone a little bit more your type.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Eliza
A full week had passed, and I still hadn’t heard from Ian. Nor had I heard from Raymond. The only person that had called me again was my mother, but I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to her. I told her that I was busy with an important project and thankfully she believed me. I was glad that I no longer lived near her. At least I could run away and hide from things with ease. The only people that I really wanted to talk to were Mae and Ian, and Ian was out the picture. Which just left Mae, my rock throughout it all.
When I got to work that day, I saw Mae standing outside. She had her bag on her shoulder, and she looked as if she were waiting for someone.
“Yay! You’re here,” she said and beamed at me.
“Uh, yeah. It’s Friday. I’m here to work,” I said, climbing up the stairs. “Did you think I wasn’t going to come? Hey, where are you going? You look like you’re waiting for someone.”
“Don’t go any further. You’re not going into work today. And I am waiting for someone. I’m waiting for you.”
“I’m not going to work? Why not?”
“Because you and I are having a girls’ day.”
I chuckled. “That’s a nice thought, but I don’t think John is going to be very happy with that idea.”
“John happens to be completely fine with that idea. No big project to work on, so you and I get the day off. I told Paul that we had to go out and buy stuff for another assignment. I didn’t want him to think that we were getting special treatment or anything.”
“We sort of are, though.” I was pretty sure that giving us a girls’ day when we should be working was considered special treatment. Although I knew that John would basically do anything when it came to Mae. I wondered what she had said to get him to agree to this.
“Yeah but he doesn’t need to know that. He’s got enough home stress to worry about.”
“Are you being serious about the day off?”
“I certainly am. You haven’t eaten, have you?”
“No, and I’m starving,” I said. I had planned to get a bite at work. Lately, I just hadn’t been in the mood to cook anything at home.
“Good. I have a full day planned for us.”
“You have?”
“We’re going for breakfast first. Then I’ve booked us at the hairdresser. After that, we’re going to see a movie. Then we’re going for a late lunch. How does that sound?”
I looked at her in amazement. “It sounds like the perfect day. Mae, you’re incredible. And you’re sure that John doesn’t mind?”
“He doesn’t mind.”
“He’s the best boss!”
I’d told John all about what had happened at the party, and explained how Ian had not been at fault. He’d told me how much he liked Ian, and how much he’d enjoyed speaking with his father too. He said they were good people and that the club had done no wrong. He’d told me that he was going to talk to the newspaper to see what he could do, but that in the meantime I should know that it wasn’t my fault. I’d cried a little in his office, and he’d sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Giving us a day off was probably more to do with the fact that he could walk around the office without worrying about upsetting me.
“Okay, so here’s the deal,” Mae said the moment we found a table at a nearby café. “We’re going to order a big breakfast and at least two cups of coffee. Then you’re going to tell me everything that’s upsetting you. I mean, everything! And once we finish talking about the whole situation, we’re going to leave this place and go get our hair done. Once we’re there, we won’t talk anymore about Ian or the party or Raymond. Once we walk out of this café, we are going to just concentrate on having a good day together.”
I smiled at her. “That’s a deal for sure. I’m good with that.”
I actually wasn’t sure that I wanted to even talk about Ian, but now that she had opened up the idea to me, it suddenly seemed like a good idea. We ordered waffles with scrambled eggs and bacon, and two cappuccinos—one for before the meal and one for after, and then we settled in for the chat.
“So, how are you feeling?”
“I miss Ian so much. And I feel like this whole thing was my fault. I keep picturing the other members of the club reading the newspaper and being upset at him for putting them in the spotlight. And I keep thinking of his father. Ian was always telling me how hard his father is on him. And I don’t think this would have helped. And he was doing so well before this. I’ve messed it all up for him.”
“I’ve got to say, Eliza. At first, I was skeptical about this guy. But when I saw how much you liked him, I started to change my mind. Then I met him at the party and I most definitely changed my mind. He’s not this bad guy that the media have made him out to be. He’s a good person. And he’s clearly smitten with you.”
I looked at Mae in surprise. So far everyone had been telling me to stay away from him. “You don’t
think I should stay away from Ian?”
“Why would you do that? He saved your skin. I think he’s overreacting about you calling the cops, though.”
“I’m not sure he knows sometimes how to deal with his emotions,” I said.
Mae laughed. “That sounds like most guys I know. I have a feeling he just needs to clear his head. But I think he might need a bit of a helping hand. A push in the right direction.”
“What do you mean?”
Just then the waitress came by with our food and placed the waffles in front of us. We thanked her and waited for her to leave before continuing with the conversation.
“What I mean,” Mae said and then stabbed the waffle with her fork. “Is that you should probably go and talk to him.”
She put a forkful of the waffle in her mouth and groaned with pleasure.
I chuckled and did the same. “Oh wow. This is amazing. I like girls’ day.”
“Yeah, me too. Thanks, John,” Mae said.
“Thanks, John,” I agreed.
“So, you’ll go and talk to him?”
“I think I will. I just need to figure out how. I’m not sure if just showing up at his home or work is going to do it. And I’m not even sure what to say.”
“Be yourself and be honest. And then let him decide what he wants to do. There’s only so much that you can say, but I think the two of you definitely at least need to talk it out.”
I smiled at Mae. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being the only person to truly listen to me.”
I felt good for the rest of the day. After the breakfast, we got our hair done, and then Mae insisted we get our nails done too after seeing how awful mine looked. Then we enjoyed a movie together and topped it off with lunch. Considering how upset I had been when the day started, it ended up being one of the best days of my life. And I was glad to finally have a plan. I was going to speak to Ian. I was going to make things better.
That night, I lay in bed while the cogs turned in my brain. There must be a way to talk to him without going to his house or his work. There must be . . . .
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